This invention relates generally to bottled water stations of the type adapted to receive and support a water bottle in an inverted position, and to selectively dispense water therefrom. More particularly, this invention relates to improvements in bottled water stations designed for contamination-free delivery of water from an inverted water bottle to an underlying station reservoir.
Bottled water dispenser stations are well-known in the art for containing a supply of relatively purified water in a convenient manner and location ready for substantially immediate dispensing and use. Such bottled water stations commonly include an upwardly open water reservoir mounted within a station housing and adapted to receive and support an inverted water bottle of typically three to five gallon capacity. Water within the inverted bottle flows downwardly into the station reservoir for selective dispensing therefrom through a faucet valve on the front of the station housing. Such bottled water stations are widely used to provide a clean and safe source of water for drinking and cooking, especially in areas where the local water supply contains or is suspected to contain undesired levels of contaminants.
In bottled water stations of the above-described type, the water bottle is normally provided in a clean and preferably sterile condition with an appropriate sealing cap to prevent contamination of the water contained therein. When an inverted bottle on a station housing reaches an empty condition, the empty bottle can be lifted quickly and easily from the station housing and replaced by a filled bottle having the sealing cap removed therefrom. The empty bottle can then be returned to a bottled water vendor for cleaning and refilling.
While bottled water stations are widely used to provide a clean and safe supply of fresh water, undesired contamination of the bottled water can sometimes occur. For example, exterior surfaces of a bottle cap and the associated bottle neck can contact dirt and/or other contaminants in the course of bottle handling and storage prior to use. Removal of the bottle cap followed by installation of the bottle in an inverted position onto a station housing is frequently accompanied by a portion of the water contacting exterior surfaces of the bottle neck. Moreover, when the bottle is installed onto the station housing, at least a portion of the bottle neck is normally immersed within the water contained within the station reservoir. As a result, the potential exists for washing dirt and other contaminants from the exterior of the bottle neck into the station reservoir, thereby contaminating the bottled water supply.
In the past, a variety of valve arrangements have been proposed in an effort to prevent contamination in a bottled water station. Such valve arrangements have typically envisioned a bottle cap having a movable valve member, wherein the valve member is opened in the course of installing the water bottle onto the station housing. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,699,188; 4,874,023; 4,991,635; 5,121,778; and copending U.S. Ser. No. 773,024. In these prior devices, a tubular actuator probe is provided within a cylindrical support funnel or receiver mounted at the top of the station reservoir, wherein the tubular probe engages and opens the valve member on the bottle cap as an incident to bottle placement onto the station housing. The support funnel is normally associated with an annular seal which engages the reservoir, such that the probe and support funnel structure substantially close the otherwise upwardly open water reservoir to prevent and/or limit entry of dirt and other contaminants into the reservoir.
While bottled water stations of the above-described type having a valve actuator probe provide improved cleanliness within the water reservoir, portions of the support funnel and related probe structure at the top of the station reservoir are still susceptible to ingress of dirt and other contaminants, particularly such as ingress of small insects. More specifically, occasional problems have been encountered with respect to entry of ants and roaches and the like into the space between the bottle support funnel structure and the seal member engaging the top of the reservoir, resulting in accumulation of dirt and insect debris at this location. Efforts to clean this space typically and undesirably result in at least some of this insect-related debris falling into the underlying water reservoir, and thus contaminating the otherwise sanitary water contained therein.
There exists, therefore, a significant need for improvements in actuator probe and bottle support funnel structures for use in a bottled water station, wherein accumulation of dirt and other contaminants at the top of a station reservoir is substantially precluded. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.